We’ll be visiting Tulane for Honors Weekend on March 18-19. Since we’ll be coming into town on Friday night, we’ll have all day Saturday to tour the city. As a student or parent, what would you recommend we see or do while we’re there to get a real feel for the city and what life would be like if my daughter decides to attend Tulane? We’re excited for our visit … just wish we had more time there!! 
It’s a pretty dead town, not much fun to do there . . .
@starting soon. We had 1 day also last year when we visited with our daughter. Our itinerary was as follows: In the morning visited the French Quarter. You can get there in a scenic way by walking along Canal Street towards the boardwalk on the Mississippi River. As you approach the boardwalk you will pass the Audobon Butterly Garden and Insectarium and then as you reach the boardwalk you will see the Audobon Aquarium of Americas. You may want to visit both if you have time later in the day. Walk along the Mississippi River boardwalk till you reach the river boat called “Steamboat Natchez”–you may want to go on it later if you have time. Then, make a left turn you will be in the French Quarter–goto the first or second street which is “Decatur Street” and you will see Café Du Monde (best tasting beignets) and walk along Decatur past Cafe Du Monde and you will pass a lot of shops until you reach the French Market which is like a Farmers market with food and merchandise. Then come back towards Cafe Du Monde and make sure to walk along the various streets in the French Quarter—Chartes Street, Bourbon Street and Royal Street were our favorites. Then after lunch take the St. Charles Streetcar (Trolly) uptown towards Tulane. You will see beautiful mansions along St. Charles street all the way towards campus. Get off at Tulane and walk through Audubon Park which is directly across from Tulane on St Charles. Walk thru Audobon and you will be on Magazine Street. Walk a little down Magazine Street where they have nice shops and a Whole Foods. That should give you a flavor of whats around the campus. Then on Sunday and Monday you can walk along either Freret Street, Oak and Maple and check out the restaurants there. Enjoy!
^^ Perfect!!
I’ve only been to New Orleans once, but it’s one of my all time most favorite cities!! There’s music EVERYWHERE. And Cafe Du Monde is a must stop, as is the French Quarter.
Theere are many threads on this topic in this (the Tulane) forum. Do a quick search and you will find tons of suggestions. One fun thing is to tke the segway tour of treme. There are tons of excellent restaurants of course, in the quarter, uptown, on Magazine St., you name it. Walk around audubon park and the zoo right across from campus. Have a hotdog at dat dog. Have fun!
So many options, so little time! You didn’t specify which part of the city you are staying in…that could help narrow down the choices a bit.
Since it is your first visit, you of course should visit the French Quarter…the historic, touristy part of New Orleans most are familiar with (and where Tulane is not located). Plenty of good suggestions up thread of what to do there…there is no shortage of ways to spend time in it. However, if you would like a uniquely New Orleans experience, I always suggest a visit to Preservation Hall for an old-school, traditional New Orleans jazz show. It’s a very unique venue in the French Quarter…seats only approximately 100 people or so and you are right on top of the musicians. It’s not much to look at…appears as though it may fall down when you walk up on it, but the work they are doing to preserve the history and traditions of New Orleans Jazz is amazing and commendable. The concerts only last an hour or so, so it’s not a huge time commitment, and it’s one of the few live music venues that allows people under 21 to attend since there is no alcohol served. It’s all about the music.
If that sounds like something you and your family would be interested in, I would recommend getting tickets ahead of time for that Sat evening, and I always recommend splurging for the VIP or Big Chief ( whatever they are calling them these days) tickets because that allows you to avoid standing in line and you get reserved seats right up front where all of the energy is coming off of the musicians. Being that close is an intense experience (in a good way). They usually do two shows a night on weekends, so you could have dinner in the quarter ahead of time and then head over to Preservation Hall after. Makes for an enjoyable evening! Tickets are purchased directly from the Preservation Hall website.
If you have questions about this or anything else New Orleans, feel free to PM me. I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time there for someone who hasn’t lived or gone to school in it. Have a blast! I’ll never forget my first visit to New Orleans and hope you and your family won’t either!
Many of the locals go to Frenchman street, not Bourbon St. for their musical entertainment. And don’t call the streetcar the trolly. Its the streetcar.
Yes, it always amazes me when I talk to people who have recently visited and it becomes clear that they didn’t venture far from Bourbon St. I always describe it as something you need to experience at least once, especially on a busy night. It’s great people watching. But aside from that, I find very little to lure me back…too many more interesting things to see and do. It’s usually just a street I cross (and smell) when I am headed somewhere else.
I love Frenchmen Street, but it always strikes me as something you graduate to, not necessarily a first-timer stop unless you are there for an extended period of time or are going to see a specific act perform. And unfortunately, the last few times I have been there, it seems to have gotten a bit seedier, attracting more than just music lovers. It made me sad. Hopefully the next time I visit it will go back to feeling like the magical musical mishmash that it can and should be, without the extracurriculars that I would expect on Bourbon but don’t want on Frenchmen.
@startingsoon , since you only have one day, and you want to see what life will be like for your child at Tulane, I would limit your Fr Quarter stop to only part of the day, such as having lunch or walking around in the morning. I would take the streetcar Uptown towards Tulane on St. Charles, spend some time on campus, walk over to Freret Street’s restaurant row to have a meal (recommend Ancora, Mint and Company Burger but there are many great options), then Uber back to your hotel.
The Honors Weekend event does provide them two days in the uptown/campus area as well.
I agree with @vistajay . The French Quarter is the typical tourist destination but Tulane students don;t spend much tie there on a daily basis. I’d spend time checking out the Oak Street and Freret St area shops and restaurants and also Magazine Street. Take the streetcar (never a trolley) down to the Quarter for dinner. There is no boardwalk in NOLA. The Riverfront area is currently under reconstruction/improvements and a mess, difficult to access.
If you have any specific questions please let me know. We’ve been visitors to NOLA since 1994, multiple times a year. My son competed his undergrad at Tulane is now at Tulane Law.
Are you a Threadhead by chance?
@pishicaca nope, just a lover lover. Went there for our honeymoon and keep returning. Mardi Gras and FQF are more my thing than Jazz Fest. We have Saints Season tickets too!
The WWII museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to.
The museum is excellent. Unless there is a strong desire to do touristy stuff, the only thing worth visiting in the quarter is Jackson Square (grab a beignet and look at the art) and the French Market.
Check out DOUBLOON TOURS; incredibly informative and fun cultural tours of everything you can imagine; try a graveyard tour- sounds odd but a big part of the city’s history:))
Thank you, everyone! We leave tomorrow, and although it looks like rain/thunderstorms all weekend, we’re excited to see Tulane and explore the city a bit more. I appreciate all of your suggestions!
Have fun on Saturday! Last summer we did a walking tour thru the National Parks office. It’s right in the French quarter, by the French Market. They have several choices, but we did the French Quarter tour. Excellent history of the city and a tour of one of the cemeteries. My hub and D had an excellent weekend last weekend. It’s a packed schedule and busy, and they loved it. There were a couple of glitches (one prof didn’t show up to the rotation lecture… time change glitch!), and the two honors colloquiums my D wanted were fully booked already, so signed up for a random one, hoping that many kids registering won’t end up attending and she’ll get into her first choice. Curious to see what y’all think!